Jobs

Research Outreach Manager

Posted 30 Mar 2024

Employer

The Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration

Contact

Apply at www.theaftd.org

Description

Under the direction of the Director of Research and Grants, the Research Outreach Manager will manage and implement programs and activities designed to foster long-term relationships, promote engagement, and support professional development within FTD research community, with a special emphasis on AFTD-funded researchers and prospective applicants to AFTD grant programs (e.g., networking events or mentoring opportunities). They will liaise between the Research and Grants team and AFTD’s Communications team to promote funding opportunities and events. In addition, they will support program evaluation and maintain data records on funded projects. Finally, they will manage the submission, review, and post-award processes for the annual AFTD Holloway Postdoctoral Fellowship Program.

FUNCTIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES

Essential Job Functions

• Participate in progress report calls with grant recipients and collaborate with Director of Research and Grants to fulfill recipient requests for resources and information.
• In collaboration with Director of Research and Grants, attend scientific conferences to expand the AFTD Research team’s network of contacts, encourage researchers to consider research on FTD disorders, raise awareness of AFTD funding opportunities, and prospect for potential grant applicants.
• Under the direction of the Director of Research and Grants, plan, promote, and implement networking, mentorship, and/or educational opportunities at AFTD-hosted and external scientific conferences (e.g, ISFTD, AAIC, SfN) that encourage interaction, advance collaboration, and build community among researchers.
• Manage research outreach initiatives to engage the FTD scientific community.
• Manage the annual Holloway Postdoctoral Fellowships program o Prior to the beginning of a funding cycle, review and update the Holloway Postdoctoral program on AFTD’s grants management system.
• Ensure that information about the Holloway Fellowship program is updated, accurate, and complete, including the Request for Proposals and application instructions.
• Monitor submissions, answer applicant questions, and resolve technical issues as needed.
• Collaborate with Director of Research and Grants to match applications with reviewers who have requisite expertise.
• Draft award agreements and manage completion of award contracts.
• Manage active fellowship grants through scheduled progress report calls, ensuring timely submission of progress reports, and responding to emergent questions or concerns.
• Manage supplementary support programs for funded fellows such as travel awards or mentorship programs.

Research Outreach Manager

• Identify external funding opportunities and coordinate with AFTD Communications team to share these opportunities with the FTD research community.
• Enable communications of scientific progress and grants o Coordinate with Research Administrative Assistant and AFTD Communications team to maximize awareness of AFTD grants, including outreach on social media platforms, submitting notifications of funding opportunities to peer organizations as well as funding opportunity databases, and providing content on grant programs for the AFTD website.
• Draft descriptions of newly funded projects for AFTD communications with non-scientific audiences.
• Coordinate with AFTD Communications team to ensure that publicly shared information on AFTD grants is accurate, complete, and up to date.
• Along with other AFTD scientific staff, support the AFTD Communications team as needed to accurately communicate scientific progress to non-scientific audiences.
• Manage Research Grant data resources for program execution, tracking and evaluation.
• With support of the Research Administrative Assistant, ensure both internal and external records of AFTD grants are complete, accurate, and up to date.
• Run reports at regular intervals to generate up-to-date summaries of programmatic information on all AFTD-funded and partnership programs.
• Maintain grant program calendar.
• Support the Director in evaluating research grant programs through the collection of relevant data from external sources (e.g., PubMed, NIH RePORTER) or surveys of award recipients.

Other Job Functions

• Represent AFTD at scientific conferences.
• Conscientiously follow company policies and practices and takes care of organizational property.
• Other duties as assigned.
• Travel for conferences and meetings as needed, in compliance with current safety protocols.

Requirements

A Ph.D. in neuroscience, or related field, or relevant clinical discipline strongly preferred. Master’s degree in relevant scientific field or clinical discipline and significant experience in grants administration will be considered.

Experience

• 2-5 years of experience in grants administration or scientific program management preferred.
• Experience in biomedical research funding agency or disease advocacy organization preferred.
• Experience in management of educational and professional development initiatives for early-career researchers a plus.

Special Knowledge/Skills

• Knowledge of research funding process, including peer review required.
• Broad familiarity with neurodegenerative disease research strongly preferred.
• Strong interpersonal skills required.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills, including ability to communicate complex scientific concepts to a variety of audiences required.
• Able to work collaboratively and effectively with cross-functional teams as well as external stakeholders and research community required.
• Strong organizational skills and ability to effectively and efficiently manage detailed workflows required.
• Creative and resourceful approach to challenges and new situations strongly preferred.
• Familiarity with grants management software platforms and databases (e.g. Salesforce) a plus